Sam the Little Spaceman

[nikosdoykas]

MDI DRIVER cant mount sam.mdv on real ql

[Martin_Head]

MDI DRIVER cant mount sam.mdv on real ql

The MDI driver can only mount it's own '_mdi' format images. If you want to use a Qlay, or Qemulator mdump '.mdv' image, you would need to convert it to MDI format first.
There are commands in the MDI driver for doing this.

I have never tried the MDI driver in a real QL. So I don't know if it works. But if the 'Sam the spaceman' game needs to be in 128 K mode, The MDI driver's code might get in the way, if you are short of space.
Although you might be able to mount the image file, then copy the files to a Microdrive cartridge, and run the game from there.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

The Littlesam.mdv file is in Qlay mdv format, for MDI to mount the file, the file must be converted to MDI format.

Reading tbe MDI documentation, indicates:

CONVERT2_MDI "LITTLSAM.MDV" , "littlesam_mdi"

then use MOUNT_MDV to mount the mdi image:

MOUNT_MDI 1,"littlesam_mdi"

This will make a device called MDI1_

To make it look like MDV1_ define the MDI device to MDV, but to allow access to the existing MDV hardware, the MDV device must be renamed, by:

MDV_USE MDD

Rename MDI to MDV

MDI_USE MDV

So DIR MDV1_ will give access to the Littlesam image file.

I usually copy the files to a QL formatted disk or hard drive directory, to play the games.

Problems do arise with the 128K memory cut routine, maybe the main game code could disassembled and this feature be corrected for modern QL systems.

[nikosdoykas]

CONVERT2_MDI "LITTLSAM.MDV" , "littlesam_mdi"
ON QL says not found...
i make a convert of joark.mdv ...to mdi and is working

[Martin_Head]

CONVERT2_MDI "LITTLSAM.MDV" , "littlesam_mdi"
ON QL says not found...
i make a convert of joark.mdv ...to mdi and is working

I will assume you have tried with full file names e.g. CONVERT2_MDI "flp1_littlesam.mdv" TO "flp2_littlesam_mdi"

As you say, you tried another file and it worked, then it sounds like an issue with the 'LITTLESAM.MDV' image.

I can't quite remember, without looking at the source code, for what triggers a not found error, other than a wrong file name. But I'm pretty sure it makes some checks on the image file before it starts the conversion. It has to determine if the source file is a Qemulator, or a QLay image file, before it can convert it.

A QLay image file should always be 174,930 bytes in length. An MDI image file should always be 136,170 bytes in length. And Qemulator image files have varying lengths.

If the QLay image is too long by 30 or 40 bytes, It may have picked up a Qemulator header. VIEW the file, if you see some text like ']!QDOS File Header' at the start, then that's what's happened.

If everything looks OK, and other people are having the same problem with it, then post it here and I will investigate why the MDI driver complains.

EDIT : I had a quick look at the MDI sources. Other than errors generated by QDOS system traps that the routine uses. The CONVERT2_MDI command can generate -
Bad Parameter - There was not 2 parameters, or either filename is longer than 42 characters
Not complete - The source file is less than 46 bytes, There was a problem creating a blank destination mdi file, A buffer for a Qemulator file could not be made
Bad name - A QLay image file length was wrong.

I did not notice a specific Not found error.

[nikosdoykas]

i try olso to convert mdv 2 mdi with mdi2mdv software ql say: not the length of an mdv.... aborted+

[Martin_Head]

i try olso to convert mdv 2 mdi with mdi2mdv software ql say: not the length of an mdv.... aborted+

Are you trying to do this in the MDI driver? I don't remember putting in a "not the length of an mdv... aborted" message. (Although it was quite a while ago)

Can you post the image file you are having problems with here. So I can have a look at it.

Or maybe some screen shots. And are you having this problem on an emulator, or a real QL?

[nikosdoykas]

i download the mdv image from here
... try to con vert to mdi... the converter say... no rigth length
on real ql i dont use emulators

[Martin_Head]

i download the mdv image from here
... try to con vert to mdi... the converter say... no rigth length
on real ql i dont use emulators

I have just downloaded the two versions of the game, and I will have a look at them.

Just to be clear. Are you using the MDI driver to try to do the conversion, or are you using the SuperBASIC MDIConvert2_bas program?

The SuperBASIC program does have some printed error messages. I would have written that in SMSQ/E on QPC2.
If you are using QDOS, it's possible that there may be some BASIC compatibility issues. I think SMSQ/E has some differences in things like HEX and INT, where QDOS is word sized, and SMSQ/E is long sized.

I will have a play, and see if I can reproduce the problem.

[nikosdoykas]

thanks....a lot for trying